My school will be grand. I will invite teachers from the local gymnasium to give lessons. And Mangot! Mangot, who taught me French. He's still in the town. Certainly he would agreeto teach for me in return for the most modest payment. Sonya will of course come with me.

Scan across the table, set with random cutlerly, glasses, plates, etc, and over to the buffet of food. First across the alcohols. Rum (apple juice), Wine (grape juice), Vodka (water), Tea, and Punch are in abundance. The food is old and cheap – black bread, Kut’ya (cran-apple mixture), blinis (pancakes), grits, and jellied meat (Spam? Orange chicken?).

One might think the table would never had been laid were it not for Amilia Ivanovna! She did this all out of charity. Out of charity! Thank you very much! In my father’s home the table had on occasion been set for forty people, and Amilia Ivanovna, or, more correctly Lyudvigovna, would not even have been allowed in the kitchen!